Whether you're a "Wall Street hot shot or a burger flipper at McDonald's," Kerr believes that relieving the stress and exercising the humor muscle are the keys to making a work environment more pleasant. And Kerr, a mother of three, the owner of her own West Coast public-relations firm, and a professional comedian, actor, writer, and director, knows exactly how to maintain a sense of humor while wearing various hats. She even guides businesspeople who want to implement her humor tactics at their own jobs, holding seminars, classes, and tip sessions for clients desperate for change.
Humor can also be the key to making a sale. Making a client feel comfortable is definitely important, and Kerr argues that using humor is just the way to do that.
The first step is to buy a "humor journal" and determine what you find funny. Gauging your sense of humor is necessary in order to determine how to become the resident comedian in your office or among your clients. Even if you don't think you're funny, Kerr offers numerous tips and exercises that are fun and engaging.
In their humor journals, readers begin to formulate concepts of their own senses of humor by collecting tidbits from their favorite comedians, stories from their pasts that they find hilarious, and ideas about how to become the resident funny person on the job. Whether you prefer Jay Leno's "Headlines" or a good dose of classic Saturday Night Live, understanding and defining your own sense of humor helps you become more aware of how to implement humor in possibly toxic situations.
Although retraining the mind to think about funny things takes some work, Kerr walks the reader step by step through various activities that are actually fun to complete. Journal-entry exercises involve jotting down things throughout your day that may not seem funny, identifying the funny aspects, and keeping the journal close by so that you can refer to it when tense situations arise.
Rather than getting stressed out and wearing permanent furrowed brows, Kerr suggests that readers look back through their journals to find the humor in situations that usually make them burn with anger. "Students admit that being an observer changes not only their awareness level about the humor that surrounds them, but also gives them a wider and broader perspective of how humor really exists," Kerr explains.
Using profiles of various comedians and businesspeople, Kerr demonstrates what works and what doesn't in terms of handling various situations. She also points to her own experiences so that students can take lessons away.
In a prime example that involves a salesman, Kerr shows how humor can help, especially after one has faced many rejections. Kerr begins by scripting two potential scenarios and outcomes she could have had when dealing with a telemarketer. In the first situation, we see a typical exchange between the salesman and Kerr, an annoyed prospect. In the second, Kerr shows how interjecting humor into the call allowed her and the telemarketer to leave the conversation feeling better than they did before they began speaking with one another.
Instead of hanging up on the telemarketer or leaving the call feeling exasperated, Kerr used the call as an opportunity to help the telemarketer realize that some of his worst rejections could actually be seen as funny. As a result, both parties felt better after their conversation.
Developing and maintaining humor mantras, remembering your funniest (and even your most embarrassing) moments, and creating a checklist with your "humor buddy" that can remind you of funny situations, movies, comedians, or emails are all essential to diffusing serious situations.
While all of us may not have the time to devote to a class on how to cultivate humor, this book is a good starting place. Kerr promises that humor can and will change your outlook with regard to your job, your life, and your relationships. The average child laughs 200 times per day, while the average adult only laughs seven times. Count how many times you laugh each day. If the figure is lower than 10, you might just need a booster shot of funny.
